Turns out, Usain Bolt can be beaten after all — in a ho-hum second-round heat, when he’s clowning around with the runner next to him and shutting down that effortless stride nearly 40 meters short of the finish.

Smiling as he sauntered down the track in the 100, the Jamaican sensation casually glanced over at Daniel Bailey as the sprinter from Antigua pulled up alongside him at the world championships Saturday in Berlin.

Still, after two qualifying heats the 100 is shaping up as a showdown between Gay and Bolt, a three-time Olympic champion in Beijing — if Gay’s groin holds up.

Despite a slow burst from the blocks, Gay won his quarterfinal in 9.98 seconds, while Bolt finished in a nonchalant 10.03.

On the first day of the championships, three winners were crowned. American Christian Cantwell won the men’s shot put title, Valeriy Borchin of Russia the 20-kilometer walk and Linet Masai of Kenya the women’s 10,000.

Beach volleyball

Kerri Walsh has fallen to the contenders’ bracket at the AVP Crocs Tour San Francisco Open. Walsh, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and partner Rachel Wacholder suffered a fourth-round loss to second-seeded Jen Kessy and April Ross. Walsh and Wacholder will play this morning for a shot at the semifinals.

Motor sports

With Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch fighting it out on the final lap, Brad Keselowski swooped in to grab the lead in the final turn and hold on to the Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

Maykel Galindo scored in the 15th minute in Chivas USA’s 2-0 victory over host New York.

Lance Armstrong was so strong that he left the rest of the field in the mud just 35 miles into the lung-searing Leadville (Colo.) 100 mountain bike race, winning the nation’s highest-altitude endurance test in record time.

President Donald Trump's latest barrage of tweets attacking investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election stretched the bounds of credulity, from false claims that "no crime" had been uncovered to assertions that his campaign had been cleared of collusion with Russia.